


Long Live the Queen

by kajivar



Category: Charmed
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-15
Updated: 2009-11-16
Packaged: 2017-10-03 02:18:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kajivar/pseuds/kajivar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate universe take that begins from the end of the episode "Long Live the Queen." Vanquishing the Source doesn't go exactly as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Phoebe splashed cold water on her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Forced into a corner and made to choose between her husband and her sisters...she couldn't do it. She loved them all too much.

She heard the sound of orbing, then Paige's voice. Pressing herself against the door, she prayed to wake up, prayed it was a dream. She couldn't do this. Couldn't choose. Her heritage, her sisters...her love, her husband. She was caught in a tornado, twisting winds pulling her in opposite directions. Family and duty and sisterhood, the sweet ease of darkness, the desperate longings of her heart.

"Phoebe, get out here and help us, damn it!" she heard Piper call, followed by a cry of pain and the sound of a body striking a wall.

"Don't make me kill you," Cole said in a deadly voice.

"Phoebe, you heard what he said. He's gonna kill us!" Piper shouted. "Help us!"

She couldn't breathe. "I can't, I can't," she whispered. "Please don't make me. Please." Her hand moved to the doorknob against her will. "Forgive me," she said, not even knowing who she asked for absolution.

Cole faced her sisters and Leo, a ball of fire in his hand. There were crystals around him, an incomplete prison. The last lay on the ground before her, and she bent to pick it up. Cole turned his head toward her. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's...it's for the best."

Piper looked at Phoebe, her despairing eyes saying what her voice did not. Phoebe looked away. "I know it is," she said, moving to Cole's side. She reached up and pulled his head down to hers, kissing him passionately. "I love you, Cole," she whispered. She looked deeply into her eyes, and for a moment she thought she saw a flicker of realization in his eyes. He knew what she was going to do.

"Phoebe?" Piper said, one last desperate attempt to reach her sister.

Phoebe backed away from Cole. "I'm sorry, too," she said, placing the crystal on the floor, completing the trap. She closed her eyes as white energy leapt up to surround Cole.

"Phoebe," Cole said, disbelieving. "No. No!"

"I'm sorry, baby," she said, unable to look at him. "I'm so sorry." _Please forgive me,_ she added silently. She couldn't let Cole kill her sisters. She couldn't bear to kill Cole, either, but he would want it this way. He wanted to be a good man, and however this had happened to him, however he had become the Source, she knew in her heart he would rather die than do harm to her or Piper or Paige. But even now she could feel the soft pull of evil, like a seductive voice whispering in her mind. _Don't do this, go to him, be with him, your love...._

She steeled herself against it, taking strength in the feel Piper's comforting hand on her arm. Her sister began the spell to vanquish the Source. "Prudence, Penelope, Patricia, Melinda...."

Fire sprang up around Cole. Phoebe fought the urge to run to him, free him from the prison and beat the flames out with her own hands. She choked out the next line of the spell. "Astrid, Helena, Laura and Grace."

Cole looked straight at her. "I will always love you," he said, and she knew it was Cole who spoke, not the Source.

"Halliwell witches stand strong beside us," Paige called out in a clear voice.

Phoebe's throat constricted as she fought to say the next words. She looked at Cole, struck by what seemed to be relief in his eyes. _Set me free,_ she read in them, and she started to force the words out. "Vanquish this --"

Cole cried out in pain, falling to his knees. Phoebe stopped, her heart wrenched by the sound. Piper tugged at her arm. "Finish it!" she hissed. "Phoebe, please!"

"Wait, something's wrong," Phoebe said. Then a cloud of black energy rose from Cole, buzzing angrily in the crystal prison. Not stopping to think, Phoebe darted forward, kicking one of the crystals aside and throwing herself over Cole as he collapsed heavily to the floor. The dark energy spun and vanished.

"What the hell was that?" Paige said warily.

"The Source," Cole said weakly, cradled in Phoebe's arms. "It...left me."

"Riiight," Piper said. "Phoebe, get back over here. It's a trick!"

"No, it's not!" Phoebe said, her voice shrill with hysteria. "The Source knew we were going to kill it again and it left Cole. It's gone, it's gone!" She kissed Cole, sobbing. "Oh, baby, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't know what to do." Feeling something wet on Cole's head, she drew back her hand and found it red with blood. He'd fallen on one of the crystals and it had cut his scalp deeply. "Leo!" she called, seeking out her brother-in-law. "Heal him!"

"Wait just a minute," Piper said suspiciously. "I'm not buying this. The Source just went away?"

"Leo, please!" Phoebe cried. "If you can heal him then he's not a demon and he's not the Source, right?"

"Yes," Leo said slowly. He exchanged a look with his wife. Piper nodded reluctantly, moving opposite Cole and Phoebe as Leo crouched beside Cole. She held her hands ready to blow Cole up should he so much as flinch.

Leo held his hand over Cole's head. Golden light bathed Cole, and Leo nodded. "It's working. He's human."

Phoebe helped Cole sit up, tears of relief still streaming down her cheeks. "We did it, baby," she said. "You're back, you're safe."

"Umm, am I the only one who is horribly confused here?" Paige said. "How did the Source get into Cole, and why did it just leave? This seems way too easy."

"The Source is eternal," Cole said as he rose to his feet. Phoebe clung tightly to him, afraid to let him go. "It can't truly be destroyed. Vanquish its host and you weaken it, but it will move to another and regain its strength."

"Well, why the hell didn't you tell us this before?" Piper said. "It might have come in handy."

Cole coughed, and Phoebe finally released her hold on him. "Let me get you a glass of water, baby," she murmured, moving toward the kitchen.

"I didn't know," Cole said to her sisters. "I only know now because I saw the Grimoire when I was possessed. It's usually a great honor to be chosen to bear the power of the Source, but the transfer of power is secretive. No one outside the Source's inner circle knows just how the new Source is made. The chosen successor undergoes rituals to be a suitable vessel, unless it's a blood heir, and then the transfer of power can be made more easily. The last Source didn't have an heir yet, but the Seer made use of the Hollow to bend the rules...house the Source in me until I underwent the proper rituals to be able to contain it. You may not believe me but I fought it. I tried to tell you what was happening, but it wouldn't let me."

"So if it left you, where is it now?" Paige said.

"It didn't have anywhere else to go but me," Cole said. "Nowhere but...no." He spun around.

Phoebe laughed. Her eyes turned to fire as she spoke. "I've never been in a witch before, let alone a Charmed One. This should prove interesting. See you later, baby." She blew Cole a kiss, then vanished in flames.


	2. Chapter 2

Cole sat wearily on the end of Phoebe's bed at the manor. He'd retreated to the solace of her room -- their room -- trying desperately to find something to give him hope. The photo of the two of them on her dresser brought fresh pain to his heart. There had to be a way to save Phoebe. There had to. He buried his face in his hands, wishing he didn't feel so helpless.

After Phoebe had vanished, Piper had turned on him. "What did you do to her, you son of a bitch?" she wailed.

"The Source," Cole said, still stunned. "She's the Source."

"How?" Piper said. "You said there were rituals. Or a...oh god."

Cole nodded. "The baby. It's in the baby, and since it's part of Phoebe, it controls her. That's why it left me -- it had somewhere else to go. Somewhere...you won't dare vanquish."

"So we just have to find a way to get Satan's spawn out of her, right?" Paige said.

Cole whirled around to face her. "That 'spawn of Satan' is _my son_," he said angrily. "And an innocent. It's not his fault he was caught up in this. I won't just let you kill him...."

"What if there's no other option?" Piper said quietly.

"There has to be," Cole said.

"And if there's not?" Piper persisted. "Can you kill your baby?"

He met her probing gaze with his own. "Can you kill your sister?" he shot back. Piper closed her eyes and looked away.

"Why don't we go back to the manor and try to figure this out?" Leo said.

"What about him?" Paige said, looking at Cole. "We can't just leave him here...."

"Why not?" Piper snapped.

Leo put his hands on her shoulders. "Piper, I know you're upset, but Cole's human and therefore an innocent, and if what he says is true, he's still vulnerable to the Source. We can't just abandon him. Phoebe wouldn't want it that way. She'll never forgive you if you leave him in danger."

Piper tensed, then waved her hand dismissively. "All right. Let's get the hell out of here."

"Wait," Cole said. "The Grimoire. We can't leave it here. She'll...the Source will come back for it. It's in the bedroom."

"Bedroom?" Paige repeated. "Ewww. I don't want to know why. Gimme a sec." She orbed out, then back again with the bag she and her sisters had prepared to let them carry the evil book. "I'll go get it," she said, walking into the bedroom.

They'd all orbed to the manor. Leo left to consult with the Elders, and Paige went to hide the Grimoire somewhere, leaving Piper and Cole in awkward silence. Piper paced the living room anxiously, waiting for Leo to return. Finally she turned to Cole and said, "How did this happen? How could you let this happen?"

His own patience snapped. "How could _I_ let this happen? How could you? Took you long enough to figure out something was wrong with me, didn't it? Then when you finally did you were so quick to condemn."

"You're a demon!" she said hotly.

"One who saved your ass more than once," Cole snarled. "I took on the Source for you, Piper, or have you conveniently forgotten that?"

"If it wasn't for you, Phoebe would be here and safe!" Piper accused.

"If it wasn't for me, you'd all be dead," he said. "I took in the Hollow to save you. I didn't know I would become the Source myself. And you were so quick to want to vanquish me once you figured it out. Didn't bother to try to figure out a way to save me. Once a demon, always a demon, is that it? I must've wanted the power for myself, right? I'd expect that from Prue, but not from you, Piper."

"Don't you dare bring Prue into this!" Piper cried.

Cole regretted his words as Piper burst into tears. Her nerves were on edge as much as his, and she was desperately looking for a way to vent her fear and frustration. She'd lost one sister not long ago and now stood on the precipice of losing another. "Piper...I'm sorry," he said, reaching out to awkwardly pull her into his arms.

She beat her fists against his chest, crying. "We have to get her back. I can't lose her, too. Please, Cole, don't let me lose her, too." She sagged against him, struggling to breathe through her sobs.

"We will. We'll find a way," he murmured, patting her back. "I promise, Piper, we'll find a way."

She drew back after a moment, wiping her eyes, embarrassed. "I, uh...I'm going to make something for dinner," she said. "Make yourself at home." She scurried from the room.

He'd come up here after that, to Phoebe's room. While Piper sought fleeting comfort in cooking, he tried to find it here, surrounded by the belongings of the woman he loved.

He felt a sudden rush of heat and knew without even looking up that Phoebe now stood before him. "You look unhappy, baby," she said. "Why so sad?"

He slowly raised his head to look at her. "Get out of her. Leave her alone."

Her laughter was no longer the carefree sound he loved. "You act like we're not one and the same now. Phoebe Halliwell, Charmed One, and the Source of All Evil, we're one. You know it."

"There was part of me that fought you every step of the way," Cole said.

"And she's fighting, too," she said with a shrug. "Doesn't matter. She belongs to me, as did you. As _do_ you. Isn't the irony delicious? After all this time I defeat the Charmed Ones -- by becoming one of them. And I have you to thank for planting my heir in her womb."

"What do you want?" Cole said.

"You," she said simply. "You know as well as I do that her desires become mine. You wanted her, so I had to have her. Now I am her, and she wants you. So I will have you."

"Go to hell," he snarled.

"I rule it," she said, sliding smoothly into his lap, straddling him, her arms around his neck. "And every queen needs a consort." He twisted his head away from her; she roughly grabbed his jaw and jerked him back. "Of course, I can't have a pathetic human at my side," she said, pressing her lips to his.

He tried to break free, but her grip was too strong. Helplessly he gave in and returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her as she pushed him down on to his back. His senses told him she was Phoebe -- she looked like her, sounded like her, tasted like her -- and his body reacted to that. His heart wanted Phoebe, while his mind told him this was wrong and dangerous. The room seemed to spin around him, and he felt a strange heat rush through his body, emanating at Phoebe's lips and working its way through him.

She drew back, looking down at him, smiling. "Much better," she purred.

"What...what did you do to me?" he said. He tried to sit up, but dizziness made him sink back down.

"Given you back what you lost," she said. "A witch may have stripped your demonic half from you, but I can restore it. Welcome back, Belthazor."

"No," he groaned, still struggling to rise.

She pushed him back down and ripped open his shirt and scratched her nails down his chest, drawing blood. Catching his wrists, she kept him pinned down as she rocked her hips against his. "Don't fight, my love," she whispered, nibbling at his ear. "You want this. You want me. Together we can rule the Underworld and create a realm others have only imagined. The world is at our feet. We just need to claim it. Start by claiming me...."

He lost the fight against his desires. It was madness and he knew it, but he couldn't stop. "Phoebe," he moaned, entangling his fingers in her hair and pulling her head back down to his.

Laughing in triumph, she let him roll them over so that his body covered her. "That's it, baby," she said. "Give me the demon. Let me feel your hunger." She arched her back, pressing herself against him. "Show me I'm still yours."

He silenced her with a bruising kiss. He was lost, drowning in darkness, then he heard Piper's earlier words repeated in his head. "Please, Cole, don't let me lose her, too." Reason finally won out over passion, and he pushed himself away from Phoebe, scrambling from the bed. "No."

"So stubborn," she sighed, sitting up. She rose from the bed and stalked toward him as he backed away. "As if I expected anything differently. You really need to give up this resistance. It's tiring, baby, and in the end it won't make a difference."

"I will find a way to stop you," Cole vowed.

"No, you're not," she said. "You're going to take my hand and come with me to the Underworld. You're going to help me rule. My legions will have trouble coming to terms with their leader wearing the face of one of their greatest enemies. I need you to help me keep them in line...make sure they don't attempt to test me. Hard enough to see her as queen, after all. They'll have a fit calling me master."

"No," he said evenly.

She circled him, drawing her hand along his chest and back. "And I want you by my side for other reasons. I have certain...cravings...that only you can satisfy. But if you refuse me, then I suppose I'll just have to seek to fulfill them elsewhere. And your little witch will feel every second of it, I'll make sure of it. Then even if you found some way to restore her, do you think she could live with the memories of being so helpless as demon after demon took its pleasure with her?"

Cole shot his hand out as she moved in front of him again. He grabbed Phoebe by the throat, slamming her against the wall. "Don't. You. Dare." he said through clenched teeth.

Laughing, she reached out to pull him closer against her. "There's my demon," she said. "There's the fire I need." She pried his hand from her throat then drew it down her body, over her breasts, to rest on her belly. "The fire I need to protect me...and our son. Our baby needs his father. And I need you. You're going to be my figurehead, Source in name if not in fact, at least until I'm ready to reveal the truth."

"Then why not just take me back now?" Cole said. "Do it. I won't fight you. Just let her go."

"But the Charmed Ones have already proven they'll vanquish you," she said. "Their sister is another matter. They won't dare. This is just too perfect. I have her, I've broken the Charmed Ones, I have my heir, and I have you."

"You do _not_ have me," Cole said.

She looked at him, her eyes filling with tears. Her lower lip quivered as she spoke. "Please, Cole. Don't leave me alone."

"Bitch," he growled. Even though he knew they were fake, her tears still tore at him.

The tears vanished and she grinned. "What's it going to be, baby?"

Piper opened the bedroom door and walked into the room. "Dinner's ready. Paige and Leo are back and -- Phoebe."

"Just dropping by to pick up a few things," Phoebe said. "You'll hardly even know I was here. Or am I invited to dinner, too?"

Piper made an inarticulate noise of despair and flashed her hands at Phoebe. Her sister exploded into a black cloud of energy, then drew herself back together in a matter of a seconds. "Ouch," she said crossly. "That hurt." She conjured a ball of fire in one hand and bounced it. "Want me to return the favor?"

Cole stepped between the sisters. "Phoebe. Don't."

She extinguished the fireball. "Spoilsport," she said petulantly. "We should be going anyway." She held out her hand to him. "Coming, baby?"

"Cole?" Piper said, confused.

He couldn't meet her eyes. "I'm sorry, Piper," he murmured. "I don't have a choice." He took Phoebe's hand, and together they disappeared in a blaze of fire.

"Oh, crap," Piper said.


	3. Chapter 3

Phoebe sighed softly in her sleep, snuggling closer to Cole. Gazing at her peaceful face, Cole could almost convince himself that everything was all right. She wasn't the Source of All Evil, he wasn't a demon, and they were safely tucked into bed at the manor. Almost.

Instead they lay in their bed in the Source's private chamber. Phoebe had immediately had it redecorated, disdaining the simple but crude décor the old Source had preferred. While he tended toward the finer things in life as well, Cole hadn't bothered with any renovations here when he was the Source, since he spent most of his time at the penthouse. Phoebe, however, had chosen to remain in the Underground, far from her sisters' eyes. She'd gone through catalogs and circled lavish furnishings and plush bedding. The demons she'd ordered to fetch these items balked at first until Cole had coldly told them, "You will do as your Queen commands."

It amused Phoebe to maintain the façade that Cole was still the Source. He could shimmer again now, of course, since she had returned his demonic powers to him, but they always entered a room together so that no one could tell that it was she who conjured the flames in which they appeared, not him. Many of the faction leaders remained wary of Phoebe, unconvinced she would not turn on them, and remembering the many of their kind she and her sisters had killed over the years. And if they knew the Source was in the baby Phoebe carried instead of in Cole, it would only be a matter of time before war broke out to kill Cole and claim Phoebe, as competing factions sought to control the Source in infant form. Only the Seer knew the truth -- it was impossible to hide from her -- and if she questioned the Source's wisdom, she kept it to herself.

Three months had passed since they'd left the manor together. Cole wondered what Piper and Paige thought of his "defection." Did they realize he'd done it to protect Phoebe from the Source? Or did they think -- again -- that evil had claimed him?

He stroked Phoebe's hair softly as she slept, nestled in his arms, then drew his hand along her body, bringing it to rest on the gentle swell of her belly. She was showing now. Cole was torn between paternal pride and joy and fear over the baby's fate. Was his son lost to him already? If it came down to it, could he kill the baby to stop the Source? "You and Phoebe Halliwell will produce the most powerful child the magical world has ever seen," the Seer had told him. But he wasn't destined for evil, since the Seer had feared that a "white wedding" would sway the baby's power to the side of good. That meant there had to be hope to save him.

"You can hear me, can't you, Phoebe?" he whispered in her ear. "I won't give up. I'll find a way to save you. Both of you. I promise."

Then he felt a familiar tug of magic, one he hadn't felt in quite some time. Unprepared to resist it, he was ripped from the bed, unwillingly answering the call of the spell.

* * *

Paige flipped through the pages of the Book of Shadows. She'd gone through the book dozens of times since Phoebe had become the Source, but nothing they had tried worked. If she heard the spells to call a lost witch or sister, she ignored them.

To say the past few months had been difficult would be an understatement, but while more than a handful of demons had tried to take out the crippled Charmed Ones, the awful final attack they'd expected had not come. They'd seen neither Phoebe nor Cole since they had left the manor, and demonic activity overall had been light. They had interrogated some of the demons that had attacked, and the only information they had gleaned was that the Source was waiting for his heir to be born before destroying the Charmed Ones utterly.

"'His?'" Paige had said to Piper. "Cole's the Source again? Gee, this is my surprised face."

To her astonishment, Piper had shot her a displeased look. "Don't assume, Paige," she said wearily. "We don't know if the demon was lying or just out of touch with the new regime, or maybe Cole just didn't have a choice."

"Yeah, but this is Cole we're talking about," Paige said.

"Exactly!" Piper snapped. "And maybe, just maybe, we should cut him some slack. Why is it we're so quick to think he's evil?"

"Because he's a demon?" Paige said warily, confused by her sister's anger.

"Was a demon," Piper said. "Half-demon. Half-human. How many times has he saved our lives, Paige? And even when he was the Source -- didn't he save you from the vampires? He could've killed you then, but something in him stopped him."

Paige started to feel defensive. "Yeah, but...."

Piper sighed, relaxing a little. "You were right when you noticed Cole acting weird. I wish I'd listened to you sooner. But we came at it the wrong way. We were stupid to think Cole was evil because he wanted to be. Maybe if we'd tried to help him, then he'd be here and so would Phoebe."

Paige sat down next to her sister and put her arms around her. "Don't beat yourself up over it, Piper. We'll figure something out. We always do."

"All three of them are depending on us, Paige," Piper said, leaning her head on Paige's shoulder, trying not to let the despair overwhelm her. "It's not just Phoebe we're trying to save. It's Cole and their baby, too."

And so over the next few weeks Paige had worked to change her attitude toward Cole. She'd never been able to wrap her mind around the whole demon-being-good thing, but Piper was right. The first time -- well, second, after Prue's funeral -- she'd seen Cole, he'd been saving her from Shax. He saved Piper when the Source was in her head, trying to make her give up the Power of Three. He'd destroyed the vampire queen, stopping her from taking Paige away and condemning her to be a vampire forever.

She'd always tried to give people the benefit of the doubt, so why not Cole? She confided her troubles to Leo, who suggested maybe it was because she subconsciously saw Cole as a threat because, unlike Leo himself, who was married to Piper and a full member of the family when Paige joined them, Cole was an outsider, and represented a force drawing Phoebe away. Being adopted and then orphaned made Paige fiercely protective of her new family, and her animosity toward Cole was born of fear he might disrupt her new home she had found with the Halliwells. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she and Cole had that protectiveness in common. He was never overly-demonstrative of his affections toward anyone other than Phoebe, but he would die to keep her sisters safe. Paige vowed that when this was over, she would treat Cole like a member of the family and let go of her fear and mistrust, and her newfound resolve made her all the more determined to save Cole.

They were focusing on Cole today, trying to find him where their attempts to locate Phoebe had failed. Piper was scrying while Paige turned to the Book of Shadows for ideas. "What about this summoning spell for Belthazor?" Paige asked. "That was Cole's demon form, right?"

Piper shook her head. "It doesn't work anymore. He's not a demon, he's human. Unless he's the Source. Then it still won't work. Belthazor doesn't exist anymore either way."

"Well, what if we modified it?" Paige wondered. She recited the spell to herself. "'Magic forces black and white, reaching out through space and light, be he far or be he near, bring us the demon Belthazor here.' Maybe if we reword it we can -- Piper, incoming!"

Piper looked up as vortex of wind began to form next to her. She took a few steps back, bracing herself for an attack, then saw what the spell had summoned. Cole. "It worked?" Piper said in surprise. "And...naked!" She blushed and quickly turned around, then realized the potential danger and spun back around, her hands ready to unleash their power. Keeping her eyes just on Cole's face, she said, "Are you good or evil?"

"What I am," he said testily, "is cold." He snatched a pillow from the nearby sofa and tried to cover himself.

Paige tilted her head and peered at Cole. "Dude, I think you need a bigger pillow."

Cole flushed and glared at her. "I'm not here to hurt you, but I may change my mind after this," he said irritably.

Piper kept her wary stance. "Paige, will you please do something about the naked man you just conjured?"

"I am," she said with a wicked grin, brandishing a pen. "I'm updating the entry in the Book of Shadows. Phoebe left out a few details."

Piper rolled her eyes at her youngest sister. "Use the object of objection spell or something!"

Paige peeked at Cole again. "I don't think it will work because I can't object to that."

"Paige!" Piper yelped. "Don't make me blow you up!"

"Oh, all right," Paige said with a dramatic sigh. She orbed to Phoebe's bedroom, returning moments later with some of Cole's clothing. She tossed them to Cole, still leering at him as he turned his back to pull on the pants and shirt.

When he'd dressed, he turned to face the sisters. "What the hell are you two doing?" he said.

"Apparently finding out you're a demon again," Piper said. "Care to explain how that happened?"

"How do you think?" Cole said, somewhat bitterly. "Phoe -- The Source decided I was somewhat lacking and decided to restore my demonic half."

"The Source is still in her and not in you?" Piper asked. "Because all the demons we've run into keep calling the Source 'he.'"

Cole nodded. "She's pretending I'm still the Source because if word gets out the Source is contained in the body of an infant, it could cause chaos."

"So why not go back to you instead?" Paige said.

"I offered," Cole said. Piper raised an eyebrow, and he met her gaze without shame. "I would do it to spare her and our child. But she feels safer from you in Phoebe's body, for now at least."

"Why'd you go with her?" Paige said.

He sat down tiredly on the sofa. "I couldn't just abandon her...let her go down there alone. I have to protect her -- protect them. She needs me. The Source needs me...but so does Phoebe. My love for her let me affect the Source's actions when it was in me. The same will be true for her. If I'm with her I give her strength." While that was true, he didn't want to admit the other reasons as well -- that the Source was well aware his greatest weakness was the lengths he would go to preserve Phoebe's well-being, and how she had threatened to abuse Phoebe's body if he didn't obey her. His protective nature -- and jealousy -- were being used as weapons against him.

Piper sat down next to him. "How...how are you doing?" she asked softly.

"I don't know how much longer I can hold out," he said. "You don't know what it's like down there...surrounded by evil. It's like...it's like being a thirsty man surrounded by poisoned water."

She took his hand in hers. "You're strong, Cole. You can do it. I know you can."

He looked at her hopefully. "Have you found a way to help her -- to get the Source out without killing her?"

"Not yet," she said sadly. "Leo's been up with the Elders trying to figure it out, but they're as useless as ever. They're absolutely frantic. Nothing like this has ever happened before."

"Do me a favor," Cole said, looking from Piper to Paige. "When this is done...write a spell...to make her forget."

Paige cocked her head. "Why?"

"Because the Source had the Seer slaughter a child so she could make a salve out of its blood to prevent stretch marks," Cole said. "Do you think she'll want to remember something like that? Any of it? There's a lot of blood on her hands right now, and it's not her fault. She shouldn't have to live with the memory of it."

"What about you?" Piper said.

He shrugged slightly. "I've learned to live with what I've done. I can handle it."

"No, I mean...is there blood on your hands now?" Piper said.

He was a little surprised she didn't automatically assume as much. "Not yet. I think she knows if I kill an innocent that I'll have crossed a line and you won't hesitate to vanquish me. She's not willing to take that risk, not when it means the power of the Source will be trapped in an infant. She needs me as a safeguard until the child is old enough."

"Will you?" Piper persisted.

"Piper, please don't ask me that," he said. "You know I'll do whatever I have to to save Phoebe. Whatever I have to."

"Maybe you shouldn't go back down there," Paige brought up.

"I have to," he said simply. "And right now I'm the best connection you have to Phoebe."

"Look, I'm trying to get on the 'Let's Trust Cole' Train," Paige said, "but you're crazy. You don't want to be evil, but every second you're down there you're risking losing it...."

"Like an alcoholic spending time in a bar?" Cole interrupted.

Paige scowled. "Not fair. That's different. I know my demon and it's totally under control."

"And I have mine under control," Cole said. "But you're right, it is a risk. So just in case...." He stood up and looked around the attic. Spotting an athame, he picked it up and sliced his hand open.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Piper said.

Cole found a bottle and let his blood drip into it. "Make a vanquish potion. Use it if you have to. It won't work if the Source is in me, but if it's just me...."

"Cole, we're not going to vanquish you," Piper protested.

He pressed the bottle into her hand. "Just in case." He held her gaze with his own. "I trust you to use it only if you have to." She nodded and took the bottle as he found a cloth to press to his hand to stop the bleeding.

"I'd better go," he said a few moments later. "Before she realizes I'm gone. I'll try to get word to you somehow if I find anything out that may help you."

Piper gave him a quick hug. "Be careful," she said.

Cole nodded and shimmered from the attic, willing himself back the Source's chamber. If luck was with him, Phoebe would still be asleep and would not have noticed his absence. It took his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dim candlelight, and as they did, he heard a soft moan. He looked to the bed and saw Phoebe sitting up in it. No, not just Phoebe, she wasn't alone. Dane, his ambitious lieutenant, was in bed with Phoebe, touching her, kissing her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cole shouted.

Phoebe didn't even flinch. "There you are, baby," she said, looking over Dane's shoulder. "I woke up and you weren't here. I was lonely, and Dane here was kind enough to offer to make sure his Queen's needs were all...satisfied."

Anger surged within him, and an energy ball appeared in his hand almost unbidden. "Get away from her," he said to Dane in a deadly voice. "Now."

Dane looked at him scornfully. "To think all this time I was kneeling to you. Now I know where the true power is. You were never worthy of being the Source. And you're not worthy of her now."

"I said take your hands off her," Cole ordered. Dane's response was to turn his back on Cole and kiss Phoebe again. She squealed in delight, encouraging his attentions. Cole threw the energy ball, striking Dane in the back. Roaring in pain and surprise -- he must've thought the Source would protect him from Cole's attack -- Dane leapt from the bed, throwing an energy ball of his own at Cole. Cole dodged the brunt of the blast, but it grazed his arm. He threw another energy ball, this time striking Dane solidly in the chest. He flew backwards and slammed into a wall, sinking to the ground, stunned.

He could feel Phoebe's eager eyes on him as he stalked towards Dane's prone form. He stopped to yank a sword from the wall -- one of the few items Phoebe had retained from her former incarnation's decorations. Dane struggled feebly to rise, but Cole coldly kicked him to the ground, then raised the sword and drove it into his chest. Dane screamed in pain as he erupted into flames.

Phoebe stretched out on the bed, waiting for him. "To the victor go the spoils," she said, wriggling seductively, licking her lips in anticipation.

He prowled to the bed, unable to stop himself. Killing Dane and jealousy had roused the demon in him, which undoubtedly was exactly what Phoebe had planned. She gasped as he grabbed her, jerking her upward for a hard and demanding kiss. He hungered for her, and that hunger had to be sated. It wasn't lovemaking he wanted, it was a claiming, but as much as he was claiming her, she was claiming the demon part of him. She had called him the victor, but right now, she was winning.

"Have I ever told you I like it rough, baby?" she said breathlessly when they'd finished. "You were always too gentle with me."

Her words brought him back to himself; he tensed and rolled off her. She moved with him, straddling his waist as he lay on his back. She circled her hand around his throat, digging her nails into his flesh as she squeezed. Her small hand belied the strength it contained. She crushed his windpipe; he couldn't breathe. "I smell the witches on you, baby," she hissed. "If you go near them again unless under explicit instructions from me, I will make you regret it. Am I understood?"

He couldn't speak, but he nodded. She released him. Gasping for breath, he said, "They summoned me. I didn't go willingly."

"Oh, that's right, that spell will work again, won't it?" she sighed. "And so will the vanquish. Well, we can't have that. I'll send for a blood alchemist." She paused, then asked. "How are they?"

"They're worried about their sister," Cole said, searching Phoebe's face.

She closed her eyes, lowering her head. "I miss them," she said softly.

He lifted his hand to cup her cheek. "They miss you, Phoebe."

Tears slipped from her eyes, falling on his chest. "I want them here. With us." She opened her eyes. "Bring them to me."

"Phoebe, you don't want me to do that," he began.

Her moment of vulnerability passed, and her eyes turned black with anger. "Yes, I do. The Charmed Ones serving evil? Our power will be unmatched. It can be done so easily now. I have a tie to the Book of Shadows, and if I corrupt it, it will corrupt them. It's been done before." She looked down at Cole and caressed his cheek. "All I need is the Book. And you're going to get it for me, aren't you, baby?"


	4. Chapter 4

Phoebe appeared in a blaze of fire in the manor living room, startling the remaining inhabitants of the Halliwell home. "Hello, sisters dear," she said with a smile. "Hi, Leo."

"Get out of my house!" Piper ordered.

Her sister sighed and sat down on the couch. "Is that any way to treat your baby sister?" she said. She rubbed her hand over her stomach. "And your nephew?"

Paige looked over Phoebe's outfit -- tight black leather pants and halter top that left the rounded bulge of her stomach bare. "Nice maternity wear," she said. "Where'd you get it? Evil Kids-R-Us?"

Piper squinted at the dark red markings visible on Phoebe's belly. Phoebe caught her gaze and looked down and traced the markings with one finger. "Just a present from the Seer," she said. "Magical protections. Made from fresh virgin's blood. Something to make sure my baby is safe and well. He's going to be such a strong boy. The most powerful force of magic the world has ever know, did you know that?"

"That's rather egotistical of you," Piper grumbled.

Phoebe shrugged. "It's true. The Seer has, well, seen it. The child of a Charmed One and the Source of All Evil...how could it not be? My baby is going to rule the world." She giggled. "And I'm going to be my own mother and my own father. How funny is that?"

"It's freaking hilarious," Piper said, rolling her eyes.

"What's the matter, Piper? Jealous?" Phoebe said. "I know how much you want a baby of your own. Cheer up, we saw your little girl in the future, didn't we? Then again, Prue was alive in that future, and we know how she ended up."

Piper choked on a sob and flashed her hands at her sister. Phoebe waved her hand and deflected the blast, and one of Grams' antique lamps exploded. "Never liked that ugly thing anyway," Phoebe muttered, then glared at Piper. You know as well as I that that is only an inconvenience to me. But it hurts, and I don't want to bring any undue harm to my baby." She put her hand protectively over her belly, then gasped softly. "Oh! He just kicked." She grinned at Piper. "Want to feel?"

Piper turned to Leo and buried her face against his chest. He put his arms around her and said to Phoebe, "You've done enough. You should go."

"But I just got here," she pouted. "Is it so wrong I want to spend time with my sisters? I miss them."

"Is that why you're here?" Paige said incredulously. "Because you miss us?"

"Is that so surprising?" she said. "You're my sisters."

"And you're the Source of All Evil," Paige said. "Why would evil care about sisters?"

"The longings of a human soul are so bothersome," Phoebe said. "But I suppose it's the price I pay for being a Charmed One."

"We've been through this before," Piper said, lifting her head. "You're evil. We're good. You can't have it both ways."

"That's what you think," Phoebe said in a sing-song voice. "We'll all be on the same side soon."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Piper said. She looked at Paige. "Oh, no. The Book...."

Both Paige and Leo latched on to Piper, and they orbed up to the attic. The wooden stand that usually held the Book of Shadows was empty. Cole stood next to it, gingerly holding a large cloth bag.

"Cole, don't!" Piper cried.

"Don't try to stop me and I won't hurt you," he said. "But this is something I have to do."

Phoebe blazed in next to Cole. "Well done, baby," she said, linking her arm with his.

"Book!" Paige called, holding out her hand. Phoebe brushed away the cloud of orbs with her own power.

Piper grabbed a bottle off a nearby table. "Cole, please don't make me throw this," she pleaded. "Put the book down."

"I'm sorry, Piper," he said. "I can't."

I'm sorry, too," Piper whispered and threw the bottle.

It shattered at his feet harmlessly. "Uhh...that's not good," Paige said.

Phoebe laughed. "When I realized you could summon him again, I realized you could vanquish him if you had any of the original potion left. So I had to take care of that little vulnerability. But now it won't be long before you'll be joining me in your new home. I'm so excited. We're finally going to be a family again." She and Cole blazed out of the attic.

Silence fell in the attic. After a moment, Paige looked at Piper and Leo. "How pissed is she going to be when she finds out that's not the Book?"

* * *

Phoebe shrieked in rage and hurled the book across the room. "Fake! They made a fake Book of Shadows?" She turned to Cole. "How could you not know, you fool?"

"I never touched it," Cole protested. "I just threw the bag with your protection spell on it over the Book and picked it up that way. It looked like the book to me."

She summoned a ball of fire and threw it at the wall. "Damn them!" she cried. Two more fireballs followed the first until Cole pulled Phoebe into his arms. "Calm down. Being upset like this isn't good for the baby."

She melted into his embrace, relaxing. "You're right. We can try again later. This time they won't fool us." She slipped her arms around his waist. "Why don't you take my mind off it, baby?"

"I'll be happy to distract you," he said, bringing his lips to hers.

Phoebe suddenly gasped and tensed as she was caught in the grip of a premonition. _A demon shimmered into the manor. Piper raised her hands to destroy it, but it held up one hand to stop her. "I bear a message from the Source," the demon said mockingly. "He says to tell you your efforts are pointless. Your foolish vanquish potion will not work. The Queen's soul is married to evil, and that bond cannot be broken. You will meet the same fate as she." The demon smugly started to shimmer out, but Piper blew him up before it could vanish._

_"What the heck was that about?" Paige said. "That was pointless, wasn't it?"_

_Piper shook her head. "No...it must be a message from Cole. The Source wouldn't send a demon on a suicide mission just to deliver a stupid taunt. Vanquish potion won't work...his blood's been changed. Phoebe must have realized we summoned him, and that the old spells will work."_

_"Good to know," Paige said. "What about the rest?"_

_"Married to evil. Married to evil, same fate," Piper mused. "Oh! Dantalian!"_

_"Dantalian?" Paige asked._

_"She was an evil high priestess," Piper explained. "She made Prue marry a demon to turn her evil because she wanted the evil to spread to the Book of Shadows."_

_"Do you think he's trying to tell us that Phoebe's coming after the Book?" Paige said._

Phoebe pulled back from Cole, her eyes turning to flame. "You warned them!" she hissed. "You betrayed me!" She backhanded him, knocking him to the ground, then leapt upon him, one hand on his throat, an athame appearing in the other. She brought it to his neck, pressing the sharp blade into his skin.

Cole tried to shimmer out of her grasp, but her power prevented him. So he lay still, not fighting her. "Phoebe," he said calmly. "Don't." He'd known there was a risk of Phoebe finding out he'd warned her sisters, but he had to. If Phoebe had succeeded in corrupting the Book and then her sisters, there would be no hope of saving her.

She hesitated. "I should kill you," she said angrily. "Kill you and be done with it. But I can't and you know it, damn you." She carefully traced the line of his jaw with the tip of the athame. "But I have an idea. The witches stripped your demon half from you once. Why I can't do the same to your human soul?"

A cold wave of fear swept through him. "Phoebe...don't. Please." His time at Phoebe's side had already strengthened the demon in him; if she removed his soul, it would have free reign, no humanity to hold it back.

She smiled cruelly. "I should have thought of this long ago. It's perfect. And then when my power returns to you when the baby is born, I won't have to worry about your disgusting human desires. I may keep the witch alive to bear more of my children, but your love for her will no longer be an obstacle when I am done with her." She brought her face down to his and kissed him. "But first, I'm going to make you pay for betraying me." She bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. "I want to hear you beg, baby. I want to hear you scream."


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you sure about this?" Paige asked Piper as she settled on to her bed.

She nodded. "We need to know what Phoebe's next move is going to be. And Cole's the only one who can help us."

"But trying to send yourself into the dreams of a demon? That could be dangerous," Paige said.

"We've already talked about this, Paige," Piper said, making herself comfortable. "And it's better than the dreams of the Source, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but what if the Source is back in Cole?" Paige persisted. "We don't know."

Piper fluttered her hands at her sister. "Stop worrying. I know what I'm doing."

Leo sat on the bed next to her. "Be careful," he said, taking her hand. "If anything happens, call for me. Even in dreams I can hear you. We'll wake you up." He leaned over her and kissed her forehead.

Piper squeezed her husband's hand, then took a deep breath and cast the spell she'd found in the Book of Shadows, modified in hopes of it taking her into Cole's dreams. "Phoebe's love, wherever you may be, through our dreams take my spirit nearer to thee."

She felt instantly drowsy and sank back on her pillows. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in a grey mist. It billowed around her, and when it cleared, she found herself in a dimly lit rock cavern. Torchlight gave the chamber a hellish red glow and screams echoed in the distance. She could smell death and decay, and over it all, the scent of blood.

At the far end of the chamber, she saw Cole. He was chained to the wall, unmoving, his head hanging limply. "Oh my god," Piper whispered, running to him. She shattered the chains with her powers, catching him as he fell heavily to the ground. Lowering him as gently as she could, Piper was horrified to see wounds upon his chest and back, deep slashes that oozed blood. "Cole?" she said softly, fearfully touching his face. She couldn't be in his dreams if he was dead -- he had to be alive.

His eyes flew open. "Phoebe!" he gasped. Then he realized it was Piper who held him in her arms. "Piper...what are you doing here?"

"We're dreaming," she said. "I cast a spell to take me to your dreams. This...this isn't really happening to you, is it? It's just a dream."

He coughed weakly. "It is. She knows I told you about the Book. She had a premonition and she wasn't very happy about it. I must've passed out...."

"But...if she had a premonition, that means she can still use the Power of Three, so she's not lost to us, right?" Piper said hopefully. She used the sleeve of her shirt to try to wipe some of the sweat and blood from Cole's face, adjusting her position to try to make him more comfortable.

"She's still in there," Cole said. "She's fighting. The Source is getting more and more unstable as it tries to keep her emotions under control, but its power is getting stronger as the baby grows." He reached up to grasp at Piper's arm. "Piper, listen to me. She wants to give birth in the manor. Over the Nexus. She'll try to trick you out of the house, but you have to be there. When the baby is born, the Source will leave Phoebe and be in the baby."

"What about you?" Piper said.

"It's...it's too late for me," he said. "You'll have to kill me."

"Don't be ridiculous," Piper began.

"She's taking my soul, Piper," Cole interrupted. "If you see me again, it's not me. I'm dead. It's just going to be Belthazor. You have to kill him."

"Cole...no..." she protested.

"Do it!" he said, squeezing her arm. "You were ready to vanquish me as the Source, Piper. You can do this. You have to."

"Only because I didn't stop to think!" Piper said. "I knew if I did I wouldn't be able to go through with it."

"Do it, Piper," he said again, relaxing his grip. "The Source won't stay in the baby long. It's too helpless as an infant. It will return to me. Get Phoebe and the baby -- shield the baby, you can find a way. Then vanquish me."

Tears burned in her eyes. "There has to be another way. Some way we can save all three of you."

He weakly reached up to brush the tears away. "Don't cry, Piper. You know I'd die to protect her. And when the Source is finished with me tonight, I'll be already dead. I don't regret it. Not if it means Phoebe's safe...and you and Paige." He tensed, drawing in a quick breath. "She's coming. Break the spell, Piper. Get out of here. Don't let her sense you."

Piper pressed her forehead to his. "I'm sorry, Cole," she said softly. "I wish there was another way." She gingerly laid him down and moved back, her foot kicking a link of the shattered chain. Grabbing the piece of metal, she stood.

"Hurry, Piper!" Cole said urgently. "She's almost here."

"Leo!" Piper called.

Then she was suddenly back in her bed, Leo bending over her and shaking her. "It's okay, you're back," he said.

She threw her arms around him, hugging him in relief. Drawing back, she opened her hand. Paige peered at the metal link on her palm. "What's that?"

"It worked," Piper said. "A long time ago a dream sorcerer tried to kill Prue. She stabbed him in the dream and there was blood on the letter opener she used when she woke up. So I was hoping I could pull this out of the dream the same way."

"What for?" Paige said.

Piper tossed her the piece of metal. "Scry. Now. We don't have much time."

* * *

Phoebe slapped Cole across the face, bringing him back to wakefulness. "Wake up, baby," she said, standing on her tiptoes and stretching to kiss him, a strange contrast to the vicious slap.

He opened his eyes with a groan, unsure if what he had just dreamed was real or not. Every breath brought new agony to his body. Phoebe had taken a sadistic glee in punishing him, alternating soothing kisses with slashes from an athame. Enchanted chains prevented him from shimmering to freedom, so he stoically grit his teeth and held back his cries until the pain became too much. She faltered then, her hand unsure. Seeing her hesitation, he called her name, trying desperately to reach her, and she'd stormed from the chamber in confusion and anger over her inability to proceed. Not long after, he'd passed out from pain and loss of blood.

"Ready to pick up where we left off?" Phoebe said. "I think I've done enough damage to you. I don't want any permanent harm, after all. So I think it's time for the next step. Now, I can't exactly ask one of my Soul Blasters to do this for me, or else my secret gets out, but I did manage to acquire a little toy." A dagger appeared in her hand. "Do you know what this is?" she asked.

He blinked groggily at the dagger, trying to place it, then remembered Phoebe describing the black-hilted dagger with a glowing green blade. "The Dragon Blade...."

"A Dragon Blade," she corrected. "There were two, a matched set. The other is lost now, but this one is mine." She slid the blade over his chest, just enough to draw blood. "So you know what it does."

He winced, feeling the tug at his spirit. "Phoebe, don't do this," he pleaded one last time. "You're strong. Fight it!"

She pressed the blade harder against his chest. "If I take your soul, you won't betray me again."

"If you take my soul," Cole said, "I won't love you."

This made her pause. "Liar. You'll still want me."

"Want you, yes," he admitted. "I'll still desire you. But it will just be lust, not love."

She frowned. "No. You will still love me. You said you'd always love me."

He shook his head. "You know as well as I demons don't love. Not real love. Only a soul is capable of that."

"Maybe that's enough then," she sneered. "I will have your desire. I will have your loyalty. And after our baby is born, I will no longer be burdened by your troublesome feelings."

He looked deep into her eyes. "Phoebe. I love you. But this will be the last time you hear me say it -- and mean it -- if you do this."

Her hand faltered. "Cole...." She pressed her head against his chest, trembling. "I have to do this. I need you with me. But I have to be able to trust you. And as long as you have a soul, you'll resist me."

He ached to take her in his arms, but the chains prevented it. "Phoebe," he said. "Let me down. I promise...I won't betray you."

They both heard the sound of orbing then, and Phoebe jerked her head up. "Who dares!" she snarled.

"Phoebe, you don't want to do this," Piper said as she and Paige warily moved toward their sister.

"Who are you to tell me what I want?" Phoebe said furiously. "You're always telling me what to do! Not anymore. What I want I will have -- like this." She turned and drove the dagger into Cole's chest. He cried out in pain, then fell limp, dangling lifelessly from the chains.

"No!" Piper shouted.

"He's mine, and you can't have him anymore," Phoebe said, her voice like a spoiled child. Leaving the dagger embedded in Cole's chest, she turned to her sisters, conjuring a ball of fire. "And you'd better get out of here before I change my mind about killing you."

Piper looked desperately at Cole's motionless body, fearful they had been too late. Then she recognized something, and hope returned. "Is that what I think it is?" she murmured to Paige.

Paige nodded. "I think so. Dagger!" The weapon vanished in a cloud of orbs and reappeared in Paige's hand. With her free hand she grabbed Piper's arm and orbed them out of the chamber.

Phoebe threw the fireball as they orbed away, but it passed harmlessly through their vanishing forms. "Sisters," she hissed angrily. She turned back to Cole, moving before him, pressing her hand to his chest. "Wake up, baby," she said. "It takes more than a little knife wound to keep the big bad Belthazor down."

His eyelids fluttered and he lifted his head. "My liege," he said in a pained voice.

"My love," she corrected. She waved her hand at the chains and they vanished; he sank to the ground. "Healer!" Phoebe called.

A brown-robed demon shimmered into the room. "You called, my Queen?" he began, then saw Cole. "The Source is injured? What has happened here?"

"The witches," Phoebe lied. "Heal him." The demon did as instructed, and Cole's wounds vanished under the red light that came from the healer's hands. When he had finished, Phoebe said, "You know I cannot allow it to be known the Source is vulnerable."

The healer bowed his head. "As you wish, my Queen." Phoebe threw a ball of flame at him, incinerating the demon.

She knelt beside Cole, helping him sit up. "Finally," he growled. "I'm finally free."

"That's right, baby," she said, stroking his cheek. "You're what you were meant to be. And now nothing's going to stand in our way."


	6. Chapter 6

Phoebe sighed in contentment, caressing her belly. "It won't be long now, my love," she murmured, leaning back against Cole.

His arms came around her, holding her tightly. "Good," he said.

Grateful for his presence, Phoebe relaxed against him, closing her eyes. She'd felt strangely uneasy these past few days as her due date drew near. She couldn't put a finger on the reason for her disquiet, only that her confidence was waning, and she suddenly felt unsure about her every action. Fortunately, Cole was there to help her through her confusion, handling all matters demonic with ease. They were in the Source's presence chamber now, having dismissed the last of those who petitioned to see their liege and his queen, and Phoebe wanted nothing more than to retire to their own chamber and rest in Cole's arms. "Are you eager to see your son, baby?" she said in response to his statement.

He slid his hand over her belly, resting it there possessively. "Eager to get back my power," he growled.

"Don't be greedy," she scolded, opening her eyes as she put her hand over his. "Our son and his destiny are what matter. The most powerful force of magic the world will ever know...."

He pulled her around to face him. "I'm also eager for him to be out of my way," he said in a low voice, glancing down at the protruding stomach that kept him at bay.

She swatted his chest and giggled. "Is that all you ever think of, baby? Be patient."

"No," he said, then added, "But I've found one or two demonesses to keep me satisfied in the meantime. They've been very eager to service the Source."

She stiffened in his embrace. "What?" She couldn't possibly have heard him right.

"You heard me," he said. "I have certain needs and you're in no condition to see to them now. You don't expect me to just wait for you, do you?"

"Yes. I. Do." she hissed, trying to conjure a ball of fire. It fizzled and died in her hand. She stared at her empty palm in shock. "What...?"

"Something wrong?" Cole said, more than a trace of mockery in his tone.

"I...I don't understand.... Seer!" she called.

"Yes, my Queen?" the Seer said, bowing respectfully as she appeared before her.

"What's wrong with me?" Phoebe asked, her anger with Cole momentarily forgotten as fear took hold of her. "I don't...I don't feel right. My powers aren't working and I feel...so confused."

"You are near your time, my Queen," the Seer said simply. "The power of the Source is settling in your baby to prepare for his birth. Its influence over you is therefore lessening."

"I don't understand," Phoebe said again. She put her hand against the wall to steady herself as her legs started shaking.

"You were never meant to hold the power of the Source," the Seer said. "It should have passed from father to son when the time was right. And now as your son nears his birth, your true nature is re-emerging." She held out her hand, and a wine glass filled with an amber fluid appeared in her grasp. "Do not worry, my Queen. It will be a simple matter to strengthen the evil within you again, and set your heart at ease. You need not be troubled by a conscience."

Phoebe looked around desperately, filled with dread as the extent of her situation began to sink in. "No...no...I...I don't want to be here. I want my sisters. I want to go home." Her voice cracked as tears started to roll down her cheeks. She turned to Cole and flung her arms around him, pleading, "Take me home, Cole. I don't want to be here."

He roughly seized her wrists, thrusting her away from him. "You'll be there soon enough." Glancing to the Seer, he asked, "How much longer?"

"The Wiccan Sabbat is two days away," the Seer said. "Your son shall draw his first breath then, as prophesied."

Phoebe struggled against Cole's grasp. "Cole! Don't listen to her! Take me home! Please!" she begged. But his eyes were cold and gave her no comfort, and somewhere in the confusion of her mind she knew the answer. The part of him that would give his life for her was gone, leaving only the cruel, power-hungry demon. His soul had been ripped from him, and she had done it.

He turned her around and twisted her arms behind her back. Gripping her wrists with one hand, he took hold of her jaw with the other, nodding at the Seer. She moved before Phoebe, tilting the contents of the glass between her lips as Cole forced her mouth open. Coughing and sputtering, Phoebe swallowed, and the liquid burned a hot trail down her throat.

Relaxing his hold on her, Cole looked to the entrance of the chamber. "Guards," he called. Two demons, one male, one a red-haired female, knelt before him. "Take the Queen to our chamber," he ordered. "See to it that she is comfortable, but she is to be confined to her bed. Restrain her if necessary, but if you cause any harm to her, you will pay dearly."

The demons nodded and rose; he pushed Phoebe into their arms. "Cole!" she cried as they started to lead her away.

"Wait," Cole said. Phoebe felt weak with relief, while the Seer looked at Cole in concern as he approached the demons. He addressed the red-haired demoness, bringing his hand to her cheek. "After you have the Queen safely in her room, attend me."

There was no mistaking the unconcealed lust in his eyes, and the demoness smiled. "Yes, my liege," she said. "I am yours to command."

"No! Cole!" Phoebe screamed one last time, trying to break free. He coldly ignored her cries and turned his back on her, speaking in low tones to the Seer. Then the tonic began to take effect, and she felt as if she were in a dream. Her struggles ceased, and she docilely allowed herself to be led back to her chamber.

* * *

Paige glumly studied the Dragon Blade. "This just keeps getting better and better," she said.

"At least Cole's alive," Piper said. "Well, sort of. But I've been stuck in one of those daggers as well, and I came out just fine." She picked up the dagger and peered at it. "Can you hear me in there? You'll be just fine."

"Should I try to orb him out?" Paige wondered aloud. "Like I did you?"

"And put him where? In a shiny glowy orb?" Piper said. "We kinda need a body to put him into."

"So we need demon Cole to put soul Cole back into," Paige said. "Then what do we do? I orbed yours into you but that was when I was getting a power boost in Limbo."

Piper flipped through the Book of Shadows. "I don't know. There are spells we've used before...."

"The potion I used to swap bodies with Phoebe?" Paige suggested.

"There's the power switching spell, too," Piper said, studying the page. "And one Phoebe used to get into her past life's body. But all these needed the caster to be willing to switch. Cole can't and Belthazor won't."

"So we wing it," Paige said with forced cheer. "No demon can withstand the might of our bad poetry."

Piper pushed the Book away and sank back in her chair, feeling overwhelmed. "We have to figure something out. Phoebe's due date has to be soon. And we still don't know what we're going to do to save her...save them." Tears began to blur her vision. "I don't know what to do.... Paige, I'm so scared...."

Paige perched on the arm of the chair, putting her arm around Piper's shoulders. "Hey," she said. "It's my turn to fall apart. You went last time, and you can't go twice in a row, it's not fair."

Despite herself, Piper smiled a little. "I didn't know there was a sign-up sheet," she sniffled.

"Of course there is," Paige said. "We can't go to pieces at the same time. So we have to take turns. And the schedule clearly says that I get to go next."

Piper laughed. "What would I do without you?" Piper said, hugging her youngest sister.

Leo orbed into the living room a moment later, and Piper looked up at her husband. "Any news from your bosses?" she asked hopefully.

"It's not good," he said. "They've been looking into what Phoebe said when she was here. She wasn't lying. Her and Cole's baby may destroy the world."

"With what, a temper tantrum?" Paige scoffed. "It's a baby. What can it do besides cry and fill diapers? Though then again, diapers can be pretty potent weapons."

"It's what he'll grow into," Leo said.

"Well, it won't matter because he's going to grow up safe and well, here with us," Piper said firmly.

Leo frowned. "Piper, I know you don't want to hear this, but the Elders -- some of them -- want you to kill the baby, any way you can. It can't be allowed to live."

"Tell them to go to hell," Piper said. "The baby is an innocent. It may be possessed by the Source, but it hasn't directly harmed anyone yet. So if we can get to him before hurts anyone, we're good, right? Like when Phoebe was a banshee or Paige was a vampire. Or what about that stupid forty-eight hour window? If he hasn't used his powers for evil, he's not evil."

"Maybe...." Leo said reluctantly.

"All right then," Piper said, considering the matter closed. "We just need to figure out when Phoebe is going to have the baby. Cole told me she wants to have him here, in the manor. But we can't just not leave for a month waiting for her to show up."

"The Elders told me something else," Leo said. "A witch uncovered an ancient prophecy. Most of these things are meaningless, but a demon tried to kill the witch before she could tell her Whitelighter about it, so maybe it could mean something."

"What was it?" Paige asked.

"It roughly translated as 'Two planets burn as one over a sky of light and magic shall rest on a holy day to welcome the twice-blessed child,'" Leo said.

"Twice-blessed?" Piper repeated. "By good and evil? Do you think this is talking about Phoebe's baby?"

"Hey, aren't the Northern Lights supposed to get really bright in a couple days?" Paige said.

Piper looked at a calendar on the wall. "February second. That must be it."

"Groundhog Day?" Paige said, cocking her head. "Phoebe wants to have her evil child on Groundhog Day? That's so...not scary."

Piper smacked Paige's arm. "No, Imbolc. It's one of the Wiccan Sabbats and you should know that. It's the center point of the dark half of the year -- it's supposed to mark the return of spring...life returning to the world."

"Or darkness keeping its hold if you pervert it," Paige said. "Hang on, let me look something up...." She pulled out her cell phone and wandered into the next room for a few minutes, then announced when she returned, "Saturn and Jupiter are in the night sky now, pretty close together."

Raising an eyebrow, Piper asked, "When did you learn about astronomy?"

"When I learned how to dial the phone number of the science geek I had a date with a couple weeks ago," Paige said with a grin and a mock curtsy.

"Okay, so if this prophecy is right, we know the date then," Piper said. "But what does 'magic shall rest' mean?"

"Doesn't sound good, whatever it is," Paige said. "In fact, I would qualify that as bad."

Piper stood and started to pace. "We can't do this alone. We need help."

"The Elders say you should...." Leo began.

Piper threw up her hands, accidentally blowing a hole in the wall in her frustration. "Dammit, Leo, I don't care what the Elders say. You will go back up there and tell them that if they don't want the spawn of all evil running around and if they want the Charmed Ones whole again then they will get off their asses and stop telling us what to do and send some help instead!"

Leo smiled at her in admiration. "I'll see what I can do," he promised.

"And if they don't help," Piper said grumpily, "when we're done with the Source I'm going to go up there and blow them up, too."


	7. Chapter 7

Phoebe bit her lip to keep from crying out as another contraction hit her. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide the fact she was in labor much longer, but she had enough awareness to know she had to get out of here, get somewhere to safety, or her baby was doomed.

Cole had eventually returned to their chamber after entertaining himself with the demoness. He'd forced her to drink more of the tonic. She'd feigned calm acceptance of her fate and his behavior, dreamily discussing the upcoming birth, but at her first opportunity, she'd vomited up the tonic. Even then everything seemed dream-like. She couldn't quite understand how she had come to be in this situation because she couldn't let herself think about it, lest the horror overwhelm her. Instead, she focused on escape. She was on her own. Cole was beyond her reach, and her desperate cries for her sisters and Leo had gone unanswered.

The Seer and Cole had been in and out of the chamber over the past two days, checking on her and making sure she was firmly under control. Fortunately, her acting fooled them. Unfortunately, her water had broken a few hours ago, and while she may not have paid much attention in health class, she knew the black viscous liquid that puddle at her feet was not normal. Frantically, sobbing, she tried to clean up the evidence before Cole returned. By the time he did, the Seer at his side, she had put on a placid mask and cheerfully lied that she was not in labor yet but that she couldn't wait until she was.

Now as the Seer and Cole spoke, she edged toward the entrance of the chamber. It was guarded, but if she acted confident enough, maybe she could bluff her way past them. She had no plan or destination, just anywhere but here.

Another contraction started as she neared the door, and she could not suppress her cry of pain. Cole and the Seer were instantly at her side, blocking her hope of escape. "My liege, she is in labor," the Seer noted. "She has been hiding it."

"Won't let you take him," she gasped. "Get away from me!"

"Get back into bed," Cole ordered.

"No!" Phoebe rushed for the door. The guards moved to block her path; she held up her hand instinctively, and to her shock, an invisible force tossed them aside. But Cole was behind her before she could go further, picking her up and carrying her to the bed. She struggled feebly, but didn't have the strength to fight him.

As he set Phoebe down on the bed, Cole snapped at the Seer. "What the hell was that?"

"The baby's power," the Seer said. "She tapped into it."

"The baby is the Source," Cole said. "It would not be helping her escape."

"Not yet, my liege," the Seer said. "But it will be. It is time."

"Watch her," Cole ordered. "I will get her sisters out of the manor. The moment I do, bring Phoebe there and prepare the spells. Timing is crucial."

The Seer nodded. "I will not fail you, my liege."

* * *

Piper scribbled in a notebook as she flipped through the Book of Shadows. She felt a presence and looked up to see Cole shimmering in to the attic. "What do you want?" she said warily, her hands up and ready to defend herself.

"I'm looking for something that belongs to me," he said. "Maybe you've seen it? Dagger, black hilt, green blade, has my soul in it."

She made a noise of derision. "What do you want with it?"

"To destroy it," he said. "I don't want to run the risk of you trying to stuff my soul back into me. I don't want it back. I'm finally free. Being a half-breed held me back for years – I had to work three times as hard to prove myself."

"Sorry, can't help you," Piper said.

"You're right about that, Piper," he said. "You can't help me. Or your sister. You should see her now. So pathetic, simpering and crying for her sisters."

Her hands twitched. "You bastard," and while the thought of Phoebe's desperation chilled her heart, it gave her hope as well. Phoebe must have somehow fought off the power of the Source.

"Oh, she'll calm down after the baby is born," Cole said. "The Seer will see to it she becomes more docile. Then again, her resistance now is a big turn on. Even now I still want her, but I must admit it's a hard choice between killing her and ending the Power of Three forever, and keeping her at my side. If nothing else, I'll enjoy getting her pregnant again. Two magical children are better than one. On the other hand, what's to say a different Charmed One might work out just as well?" He looked at Piper pointedly.

"You're sick," Piper said, disgusted.

"C'mon, Piper," he said, circling her. "I know you like the thrill of forbidden love...sneaking around...defying the Elders. Don't you miss that now that you've settled into a boring marriage with Leo? I promise you wouldn't have to freeze me like you did him. I can make sure you're completely satisfied."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "You're crazy, too."

He moved behind her, lowering his mouth to her ear. "I shimmered into the bathroom once...I thought it was Phoebe in the shower, but it was you. I stayed anyway and watched you. All that hot water running over your naked body..." His hands touched her hips, and he slowly slid them up her body and back down again. "I wondered how you would've reacted if I joined you then, pushed you up against the wall and made love to you, praying Phoebe and Leo didn't hear us..."

Despite herself, Piper found her breathing quickening. She kept her eyes squeezed shut – dangerous, but she was afraid to look at him. "Stop it," she whispered.

He kissed the side of her neck. "Take a walk on the wild side, Piper," he said huskily. "No one has to know. You like to be in control, but we both know you're yearning for someone else to take over for a change." He skimmed one hand over her stomach. "And I have access to certain spells and potions. That baby you want so much...I can give it to you."

Piper swayed unsteadily. Cole had to be using a spell or something to lower her resistance. She found him attractive, but his words and touch were compelling her more than they should. As he turned her around in his embrace, she opened her eyes and looked up at his face. She'd always wondered what it would be like to kiss those sensuous lips, and she drew in a quick uncertain breath and made a half-hearted whimper of protest as he brought them down on hers.

"No one has to know, Piper," he whispered again, his hand moving to start unbuttoning her shirt. "Just you and me. Aren't you tired of being the good girl? Let your hair down and be bad. You won't regret it, I promise you..."

She put her hands on his chest, shakily gazing into his eyes, struggling to summon her inner strength in the face of temptation. Then she laughed. "Oh, please," she said. "Do you honestly think for one minute if you had tried to get into the shower with me, I wouldn't have blown your ass up?"

Realizing his hold was broken, Cole grabbed Piper by the throat, slamming her against the wall. "Fine," he snarled. "We'll do it the hard way. Give me the dagger. Now."

"How about...a lamp!" Paige called from behind them, and said object smashed into his back. He released Piper, whirling around to find her younger sister in the doorway to the attic. Piper sagged against the wall in relief.

Cole conjured an energy ball, glaring at Paige. "You're home early," he said.

"Yeah, not a moment too soon," Paige said. "Piper, you okay?"

She nodded, hastily rebuttoning her shirt. "Think I need a shower, though." Cole smirked at her, and she regretted those particular words.

Cole sighed and the energy ball vanished. "So how about a trade then? A loved one for the dagger?"

"Phoebe?" Paige said.

"No, she's mine, and I'm not giving her up," Cole said. "You'll have to guess." He shimmered out of the attic.

Piper quickly pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. "Loved one? Darryl...wait, no."

She dialed a number and heard her father's voice answer. "Hi, honey, what's up?" he said.

"Dad, where are you?" Piper said anxiously.

"Home, why?" Then she heard the sound of an energy ball, followed by a cry and the thud of a body hitting the floor.

After a moment, Cole's voice came on the line. "Hi, honey," he said mockingly.

"If you hurt him..." Piper threatened helplessly.

"Not yet, but I will," he said. "The dagger for your father. Now." The line went dead.


	8. Chapter 8

Cole looked up as Piper and Paige orbed into Victor's living room. "The Dragon Blade," he demanded.

"Where's my father?" Piper said.

Cole snapped his fingers, and a pair of demons emerged from the bedroom, dragging Victor's unconscious body. One held an athame to his throat. "Give me the Dragon Blade," Cole said again to Piper.

"I don't have it," she said.

"Somehow, I thought you'd say that," Cole said, glancing at his watch. "Doesn't matter, I suppose." He nodded to the demons, and the one with the athame removed it from Victor's throat, then thrust it into his side.

"No!" Piper cried. Cole grinned at her and shimmered out. The two demons followed, letting Victor's body fall to the floor. Piper jumped to his side, putting her hand over his wound, trying to stop the flow of blood.

"I can't orb!" Paige said.

"Magic's gone down," Piper said. "And it won't come back until the baby is born."

* * *

Cole shimmered into the Halliwell manor, flanked by the two demons. "You are cutting it close, my liege," the Seer said, bowing respectfully at his appearance. "As I have seen, magic will fail starting at midnight on the eve of the Wiccan Sabbat, and that time is...now."

"I told you, timing had to be perfect," Cole said. "Magic has ceased to function. The witches can't orb back here now. Where is their Whitelighter?"

"He is not within these walls," the Seer said. "And wherever he is, he will be as powerless as the rest until the child is born." She stretched her arm out, directing Cole's attention to the living room. The dining room table had been moved to the center of the room, and Phoebe lay upon it, gasping for breath as she fought the birth of her baby. The two demons moved to stand on either side of table, ignoring the piteous cries of the woman upon it. "She continues to fight, but it will not be long now," the Seer said. She paused, then added, "The baby is very large, my liege. I may have to remove it through her belly."

"Only if you have to," Cole said coolly. "I'd prefer her to remain alive. She is my Queen, after all. But the child's life is more important. Rip it out of her if you need to."

"Cole..." Phoebe cried weakly, reaching out for him. He did not move to take her hand, watching impassively, his arms crossed across his chest. Her face contorted in pain as another contraction began. "Cole...please...help me," she begged. "Piper! Paige!"

"Your sisters can't hear you," he said. "They're on the other side of San Francisco trying to stop your father from bleeding to death. But without magic they'll fail, and they'll never get here in time to save you. Consider your father's life just the first of many sacrifices in the name of our son."

The Seer knelt to check the baby's progress again. "Ah, he is coming now," she said. "Push, my Queen. You are almost there."

Moments later, Phoebe screamed, then the cries of a newborn filled the air as the Seer rose with the infant in her arms. She sliced the umbilical cord with the athame, and Phoebe gasped in sudden shock as her connection to the Source was finally completely severed. "My baby," she moaned. "Give me my baby...."

The Seer wiped the baby clean, then wrapped him in a blanket and handed him to Cole. "Your son, my liege," she said.

"Cole, please, let me see my baby," Phoebe said, struggling to sit up. She held out her arms to him.

Cole turned toward her. "You may see him, but you will not touch him," he said. "I will not have you corrupting him. You have served your purpose here, and now the only use I have for you is to produce another child. Seer, return her to the Underworld."

"As soon as I am able, I will obey," the Seer said, bowing her head. "Magic's return begins with your son's birth, but it is not immediate, and the ability to transport oneself will the one of the last powers to return."

"That's good for us then," Piper said from the stairway landing. She blew up the demons that flanked the table with a quick flash of her hands. "Good thing my powers are working now."

"Baby!" Paige called from beside her. The infant disappeared in a cloud of orbs and reappeared in Paige's arms. He wailed in dismay, kicking weakly. "Awww, look at the cute wittle Source,' Paige said, tickling him under the chin. "Who's the cute Source of all Evil? Who's the cute Source of All Evil?"

Cole glared at the sisters. "How did you get here? It's impossible!"

Piper started to move down the stairs, followed by Paige. "We never left," she said. "Whitelighters can glamour themselves, you know. That wasn't me and Paige who went to meet you. That was Leo and another Whitelighter, and Leo, as you know, is a trained medic even without his powers, so my father is going to be just fine." She tried to look beyond Cole at the table on which Phoebe lay. "Phoebe?" Her sister didn't answer.

"You can't win this, Piper," Cole said. "Not unless you can kill me and the baby. Can you kill an innocent...your own nephew?"

"I don't have to," Piper said.

As she spoke, swirling lights appeared in the living room, and Penny Halliwell appeared. She took the baby from Paige's arms as she reached the bottom of the stairs, then drew back into the dining room as she began the words of a summoning spell. "I call forth from space and time, matriarchs from the Halliwell line. Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, our family's spirit without end, to gather now in this sacred space and help us bring this child to grace."

Spectral images of women, including those Piper recognized as her mother and Melinda Warren, who started their family line, began to appear. She couldn't help but scan the crowd for another familiar face, but did not see her. "This has to work," she murmured to Paige. "Grams said that a wiccanning is a witch's compass for good. It has to drive the Source out of the baby, even if only for a few minutes."

Grams turned toward the dead Halliwell witches, putting the baby in Patty's arms as her daughter's form solidified. "We bless this child," Penny began, "with the goodness that we are...."

"No!" Cole howled. He threw an energy ball but Grams turned and held up her hand and deflected it back towards him, knocking him into the wall. "You will not deny this child his ancestral blessing," she said.

As each Halliwell woman laid a hand on the baby, whispering words of blessing, the infant stopped crying, and a black cloud of power rose from his body. It swirled over to Cole as he picked himself up; he gasped and stiffened as it enveloped him, then vanished.

Piper and Paige hurried to Phoebe's side while Cole was distracted. The Seer oddly did not try to stop them, retreating to a far corner to observe. "Honey, wake up," Piper said, wrapping her arms around Phoebe. She was horrified to see that the lower half of Phoebe's body was soaked with blood, and the stain was spreading. Her face was pale, her breathing shallow.

But her eyelids fluttered at the sound of her sister's voice. "Piper?" she said weakly.

Cole looked at the three sisters, his eyes turned to flame. "Isn't this where we came in?" he said. He glanced to the Halliwell matriarchs, still busy with their blessing, protected by Grams' power, then back to the Charmed Ones. "Think you can vanquish me this time?" He conjured a ball of flame. "Or will you join the ghosts in the corner?"

Piper tried to freeze the ball of fire as Cole threw it, but she barely slowed it and had to duck, throwing her body over Phoebe's as it passed by. Paige called for the one that followed and sent it harmlessly in another direction, but it seemed Cole's powers were returning stronger and faster than their own, and two more fireballs followed. Piper desperately flung up her hands to freeze them, but they suddenly ricocheted back toward Cole as another spectral figure materialized between him and the Charmed Ones. "You!" he snarled.

"Sorry I'm late," Prue said. "Had to convince a few reluctant Elders that now was a good time to let me come down."

"Prue!" Piper whispered.

Her eldest sister didn't risk a glance back at her. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast," Prue said. "I can't hold him back long."

"Miss your sisters, Prudence?" Cole sneered. "Don't worry, they'll be with you soon enough." He threw another ball of flame at her; she held up her hand, sending it back towards him.

Piper pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, unfolding it as Paige helped Phoebe sit up. "C'mon, Phoebe, stay with us," she said. "We need the Power of Three."

"I can't do it," Phoebe said weakly.

"Yes you can," Paige urged. "You have to be strong, Phoebe. For Cole and your little boy."

Phoebe tried to focus on the paper, reading the words aloud with her sisters. "In this time and in this place, release this spirit you displace. Set it free, that which you hate, and you instead receive his fate."

Cole snarled in rage and tried to throw a fireball at the table, but Prue continued to use her telekinesis to defend her sisters as Grams used her own power to defend the Wiccanning. "Piper, hurry!" Prue said.

Phoebe's eyes closed; Piper shook her. "We're almost there, honey, just hang in there. You can do it." Opening her eyes again, Phoebe continued with the second part of the spell with her sisters. "What's yours is his, what's his is thine, let your spirits cross the line. This burden is not his to bear, switch your essence through the air."

"No!" Cole shouted. He began to glow with a white light, which grew brighter and brighter until everyone present had to cover their eyes or look away. Then the light was gone, leaving Cole looking about himself in bewilderment. "Prue?" he said, confused to find her in front of him. "What happened? Where's the Source?"

Paige pulled the Dragon Blade from the back of her pants. "Phenomenal cosmic power," she said. "Itty bitty living space."

"Cole?" Phoebe called faintly.

Confusion forgotten, he pushed by Prue and moved quickly to the table. Piper and Paige moved to let him take her in his arms. "Phoebe?" he said, brushing her sweat-soaked hair from her face.

"Is it really you, baby?" she said faintly.

"It's me," he said. "I'm here. You're safe. Our baby is safe."

She smiled, and tears began to slide down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I tried to fight it, but I couldn't...."

"It's okay," he said. "I couldn't either...but everything's fine now."

She lifted her hand to his cheek. "Take care of our baby. Make sure he's good, like his father."

"Phoebe?" He looked down and finally registered all the blood. Looking frantically to Piper and Paige, he said, "Where's Leo?"

"I still can't orb," Paige said reluctantly. "Which means neither can he."

Cole tried to shimmer and was frustrated to find his ability to transport himself had not returned yet, either. "Phoebe, hang on!" he pleaded.

"Love you," she whispered, then her eyes closed and her body went limp in his arms.


	9. Chapter 9

Cole looked desperately to Paige. "You can heal her. You have to!"

"I've never done it on my own," she said nervously. "I've always just helped Leo. I don't know if I can."

"Try," Cole pleaded. "You can do it."

Paige set the Dragon Blade down on the table, then put her hands over Phoebe. She closed her eyes, her brow furrowed with concentration, and a faint golden aura came from her fingertips. "She's still alive...barely," Paige said. "Trying...." But after a minute, she lifted her head, tears of frustration and sadness in her eyes. "I can't reach her. She's too weak. I think she's given up...."

Piper turned to Prue, starting to cry as she buried her face against her sister's shoulder. Prue held her tightly, looking sadly at Phoebe's still body. Most of the Halliwell ancestors had vanished, but Grams and Patty remained and they now approached the table, Patty still carrying the baby. He started to wail again as they drew near, picking up on the mood.

"Don't you leave me, Phoebe," Cole said softly, caressing her cheek. His tears fell unashamedly on to her pale face. He couldn't lose her now, not after all they'd endured. "I need you," he told her. "Your sisters need you. Our son needs you. Don't give up, don't you dare." He gathered Phoebe into his arms and stood. "Someone call an ambulance -- we can get her to a hospital. We need someone who can help her."

Then in a flash of white light, Leo was there, looking as surprised to find himself at the manor as everyone else. Piper wasted no time with an explanation she couldn't give. "Leo! Heal Phoebe!"

He was at her side in an instant, as Cole quickly set Phoebe down on the couch, cradling her head in his lap. Leo put his hands over her stomach. "She's lost a lot of blood," he said, focusing his powers. Cole firmly held Phoebe's hand, stroking her hair and whispering encouragement to her. Paige put her hands with Leo's, lending him her strength, and color slowly began to return to Phoebe's face. The blood covering her vanished. "She'll be all right," Leo said with a heavy sigh of relief. "She needs to rest. I did as much healing as I could, but she's still weak."

"Thank you," Cole said, his voice choked with emotion. He looked around the room. "Thank all of you. I don't know how you did it, but thank you."

"Blame Piper's temper," Paige said. "She threatened the Elders unless we got a little help, which we did in the form of the mighty Halliwell ancestors."

"The ancestral blessing sets a witch on the path to good," Grams explained. "The purifying effect was enough to drive the Source out, at least temporarily, before he got a foothold." She peered at the baby in Patty's arms. He had stopped crying and was now burbling happily. "I don't quite understand why he's a...he. That's unheard of. The Halliwell line has always been women." She sniffed at Cole. "Must be demon blood."

"That's...not nice...Grams," Phoebe said faintly, stirring. She struggled to sit up; Cole helped her, letting her lean against him.

"Take it easy, Phoebe," he murmured in her ear, wrapping his arms protectively around her. He almost couldn't believe they were here, safe and free of the Source at last. It was still sinking in, but all that mattered was that Phoebe was all right, and so was their baby.

The baby was first in Phoebe's thoughts as well as she held out her arms. "Can I see my demon baby?" she said, making a face at Grams.

Patty carefully put the cooing infant in Phoebe's arms. She leaned her head against Cole's shoulder as they both gazed down at him. "He's so beautiful," Phoebe whispered. "He's got his father's eyes."

The rest of the family crowded around them. The chandelier above them began to gently shake, and a pale blue light fell upon them all. "Does that mean magic is back?" Paige asked.

Leo nodded. "I think so. I think that means everything is as it should be again."

Phoebe lifted her gaze from the baby and looked anxiously at her sisters. "He's okay? The Source doesn't have him?"

"The Source is trapped in the Dragon Blade," Piper said. "Paige and I rewrote some of the body switching spells to put Cole's soul back in his body and stick the Source in the dagger. We knew if we kicked the Source out of the baby it would have to go back into Cole."

"We made them switch places," Paige said smugly. "And, ew, I just realized I had the Source down in my pants."

"What about Dad, is he okay?" Phoebe asked.

He's all right," Leo said with another nod. "We stopped the bleeding, and I was able to heal him when magic started coming back. Then all of a sudden I was here."

"How _did_ that happen?" Piper said. "The Elders? Did they bring you here?"

"Maybe?" Leo said. "I really don't know. But something brought me here."

Phoebe looked around at her family. "I'm so sorry," she said. "For everything."

"It wasn't your fault, sweetie," Prue said, sitting next to her.

Phoebe blinked as if seeing her eldest sister for the first time. "Prue? You're here? How...?"

"Piper's not the only one with a temper," Prue said with a grin. "The Elders tried to tell me it still wasn't time for me to come down yet, but I convinced them otherwise -- that we needed the power of all the Halliwells to do this."

"I've missed you so much," Phoebe said, tearing up as she shifted the baby to one arm and tried to sit up to embrace her sister. "If only I'd been up here instead of down there...down there...oh god...." She started to hyperventilate, and the baby whimpered in protest. "What I did...down there," Phoebe said, hysteria rising in her voice.

"Piper...." Cole said, looking questioning at her.

She nodded, kneeling beside the couch and taking Phoebe's face in her hands. "Time in evil's power, this price cannot be paid. To set your heart at ease, make the memories fade." Phoebe looked about herself with wild panicked eyes, then sank against Cole with a sigh, falling into a peaceful unconsciousness.

Piper scooped up the baby and held him so that Phoebe didn't accidentally let him go as she fell into the restful sleep. "A memory spell?" Patty said. "Is that wise? She has to deal with what happened...."

"She shouldn't have to deal with it all at once," Leo said. "We can reverse the spell a little bit at a time. It will be better for her this way."

Cole stood, Phoebe in his arms, and moved toward the stairs. Turning back around, he said, "I'm going to take her upstairs and put her in her bed."

"I think this little guy wants to sleep, too," Piper said, gently rocking the baby as he yawned and closed his eyes. "There's an old cradle in the attic -- Leo, can you get it?"

Still unconscious, Phoebe gasped, tensing in Cole's arms. "Cole!" she cried. "No!"

"Did she just get a premonition?" Paige said, peering at her sister.

"Or a nightmare?" Cole wondered. "Will your spell shield her from those, Piper?"

Before Piper could answer, Prue said slowly, "Cole, come here." He looked at her questioningly, and she said, "Just do it."

He took a step forward, glancing over his shoulder. Behind him, frozen in place in the doorway between the living room and the dining room, Dragon Blade raised to strike, stood the Seer. "Good job," he said to Piper.

She blinked in confusion. "I didn't do that. I didn't know she was still here!"

"Then how...?" Cole looked at the baby dozing in her arms. "No...."

"Most powerful source of magic in the world?" Piper reminded him.

"But he didn't know she was there, either, he's asleep!" Cole said.

"Something's watching over us," Paige said, scurrying over to pry the Dragon Blade from the Seer's stiff fingers. "Someone wanna blow her up?"

The Seer unfroze before Piper could raise her hands. She quickly took in the scene and her failure to stab Cole with the dagger, then shimmered out without a word. "Damn!" Piper said.

"She can't do much without that," Cole said, nodding toward the Dragon Blade. "We need to hide it somewhere."

Leo took the blade from Paige. "I can orb it into a mountain with the Grimoire," he said.

"Not the same mountain," Cole said. "On the other side of the world. Keep them far apart. Without them, evil is crippled. Not powerless by a long shot, but not as powerful."

"A victory is a victory," Paige said cheerfully. "And I say we party."

* * *

"Merlin."

"No."

"Gandalf."

"No."

"Harry Potter?"

"A thousand times no."

"Raistlin?"

Cole raised an eyebrow. "I thought he was evil."

Phoebe giggled. "I always thought he was just misunderstood."

They lay facing each other on their bed, the baby sleeping peacefully between them, as they tried once again to decide on a name. "He needs a powerful magical name," Phoebe had insisted.

"Shouldn't you be looking for a P name?" Cole asked.

"I think Piper has laid claim to the Ps," Phoebe said. "Besides, the Ps are more of a girl thing. Maybe another letter for boys? C?"

"We'd better agree on something fast. Paige has taken to calling him Damien," Cole said.

"Oh, no, we are not going to have our little angel growing up with an evil demon name complex," Phoebe said.

Cole brought his hand up to her face and asked hesitantly, "Does it worry you that I'm half-demon again?"

She rubbed her cheek against his hand. "That's not your fault, baby. You didn't ask for it, anymore than you asked to be the Source."

"You can make another power stripping potion," he suggested.

Shaking her head, she said, "No. Cole, sweetie, you kinda drove me nuts when you didn't have powers. You make a lousy human. Besides, I think you do have to be an angel or a demon to be a man in this family. Mere mortal men can't handle the Halliwells. Just look at Dad or any of Grams' many many husbands." She kissed the palm of his hand. "It's not the powers, anyway, it's how you use them."

Cole tenderly kissed her forehead. "Then I'm going to use mine to go downstairs and see if Piper is done with breakfast. I'll bring a tray up for you."

She pouted at him. "I can go downstairs to eat, you know. I'm not an invalid."

"Leo says you still need to rest," he reminded her. "You've been through a lot."

"I want to go downstairs and have breakfast," she insisted.

In a flash of white light, she and the baby vanished. Sick with sudden panic, Cole called her name, then shimmered downstairs to alert her sisters. He heard Piper shriek as he appeared downstairs. She stood in the doorway to the kitchen, a plate of pancakes frozen between her hands and the floor as she stared into the dining room. "How did you do that?" she said. "You scared the hell out of me!"

Phoebe sat at one end of the table, the baby awake and in her lap. "I don't know," she said, confused. "I wanted breakfast then here I was." She looked at the baby. "Did you do that, sweetie?"

"You're all right?" Cole said in relief, moving into the dining room.

"I'm fine," she said. Then she grinned and said playfully, "Hmmm...Mommy wants Daddy to come here and feed her grapes."

The white light flared again, and Cole suddenly found himself standing next to Phoebe's chair, a bunch of grapes in his hand. Phoebe laughed in delight. "Okay, Mommy wants Daddy to rub her...."

"All right, that's enough," Piper said hastily, taking hold of the plate of pancakes before it unfroze and hit the floor. She set it on the table. "Your baby is not a genie in a magic lamp. You, young lady, better watch your words if junior here is somehow granting your wishes."

"What about mine?" Cole said, feeling a little jealous.

"Don't sulk, baby," Phoebe said. "He spent nine months inside of me, of course he's tuned in to my wishes. I have a feeling eventually we're all going to watch what we say around him." She grinned up at Cole and winked. "Besides, your desires are torrid and perverse and not meant for a young child's ears."

"Hey, hey!" Piper said. "Or mine!"

"It does explain how the Seer was frozen," Cole mused. "You had a premonition of her stabbing me with the Dragon Blade, and he responded to it by stopping her? And he brought Leo to heal you?"

"Such a good boy!" Phoebe said, kissing the baby's belly. "So strong and mighty! Yes you are!"

Piper turned back toward the kitchen. "Breakfast is almost ready," she said over her shoulder. "Cole, can you give me a hand?"

Cole followed Piper into the kitchen. She poured several glasses of orange juice and put them on a tray, then paused before handing the tray to Cole. "I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" he said.

"I'm pregnant," she said. "I thought it was just stress, but I took a test this morning, and...."

"Piper, that's great," Cole said. "I know how much you and Leo...."

"Leo doesn't know yet," she said. "I haven't told him."

"Then why are you telling me?" Cole said, puzzled.

"Because...." She hesitated. "You didn't...you didn't...do anything to me, did you?"

"Do...what?" he said.

She blushed, unable to meet his eyes. "In the attic. You told me you could get me the baby I wanted."

He shook his head. "No. I didn't. Some of it's hazy, but...no. If you're pregnant you did it the old fashioned way, I assure you."

She sighed in relief. "Good. I just wanted to be sure before I said anything." She paused, then peered at him. "What _do_ you remember?"

"The best answer here would be nothing, wouldn't it?" he said.

"Mmm hmmm," she said. "And just for the record, no shimmering into the bathroom without knocking first, got it?"

"Got it," Cole said solemnly, picking up the orange juice.

Paige and Leo soon joined them at the table. Prue, Patty, and Grams had lingered for as long as they could the night before, but Prue promised her sisters she would return as soon as she could for a proper reunion. The mood in the Halliwell manor was the lightest it had been since Prue's death, made even happier with Piper's announcement of her own pregnancy.

After breakfast Cole and Phoebe cuddled in the sun room as the baby napped in his cradle nearby. "This still feels like a dream," Phoebe said. "I can't believe it's all over...and that we have a baby."

"The nightmare's over now," Cole agreed, squeezing her tighter.

"Not entirely," she said wistfully. She turned her head to look at him. "The demons won't go away. And they'll be coming after him, won't they? They'll think they can make him the Source."

"Over my dead body," Cole vowed. "Anything that tries to come after him is going to have to come through me. I promise you, I won't let anything hurt him, ever."

"I'm going to hold you to that, baby," she said, snuggling closer.

Cole kissed the top of her head, savoring the moment of peace. He knew it wouldn't last long, that the Seer and others like her would soon make attempts to take his son. But for now he enjoyed the tranquility. Time for worry would come later.


End file.
